WHAT'S NEW Friday, September 24, 2004

 WHAT'S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 24 Sep 04   Washington, DC

1. SPACE STATION: MAYBE THEY COULD USE IT TO TEST MISSILE DEFENSE
Nature reports that if the crew still can't repair the balky
Russian-built oxygen generator by the end of October, when the
crew is scheduled to be replaced, ISS may have to be abandoned. 
NASA might be privately relieved.  With every day that passes it
becomes more evident that the $100B boondoggle is, as Bob Park
described it in Congressional testimony in 1997, the "greatest
single obstacle to the continued conquest of space."  From the
beginning, the most expensive science project in history was 
scorned by the scientists.  In 1991, Presidents of 57 scientific
societies opposed the orbiting laboratory.  APS President Nikko
Bloembergen, summed it up, "microgravity is of microimportance."

2. MARS: ROBOT EXPLORERS ARE BACK AT WORK AFTER A WINTER BREAK.  
Spirit and Opportunity resumed contact after Mars emerged from a
couple of weeks behind the sun.  It occurred during the dead of
winter in Mar's southern hemisphere.  Already 5 months beyond
warranty, both rovers seem to be in good health and high spirits,
leading NASA to extend rover operations another six months.  That
was not an easy decision.  NASA is in serious budget trouble due
to the cost of repairing the Shuttle fleet.  But if they abandon
the International Space Station, they won't need the shuttle.

3. BOOK BAN: CAMPAIGN MAILING SAYS LIBERALS WILL BAN THE BIBLE.
According to the NY Times, the Republican Party acknowledges mass
mailings warning residents of Arkansas and West Virginia that
"liberals" seek to ban the Bible.  I was, of course, shocked, and
immediately called Valery Messalina, the only liberal I know. 
"Why," I asked, "do you want to ban the Bible?"  "This isn't the
sort of book you want to leave around where children might read
it," she replied.  "It's full of stories of incest and rape, and
worse.  As a mother, I want to keep it out of our country."

4. ETHICS: NIH BANS MOONLIGHTING WITH PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES. 
In a major policy shift, the National Institutes of Health has
declared a one year moratorium on private consulting arrangements
of NIH scientists.  Considering the potential for abuse, how could
it have been allowed in the first place?  In fact, Zerhouni saw it
as a way to attract good people from private companies
http://www.aps.org/WN/WN04/wn070904.cfm , but embarrassing media
reports finally made it clear that the change was necessary.

5. PROLIFERATION: IRAN AND NORTH KOREA FLAUNT NUCLEAR ASPIRATIONS
With the U.S. stretched thin in Iraq, North Korea appears to be
preparing a missile launch, and Iran is defying the International
Atomic Energy Agency with a new round of nuclear experiments.



THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.  
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
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